A new light rises
"What do you desire? Money and wealth, honor and pride, authority and power, revenge? Or something that transcends them all? Whatever you desire, that is in here."
These were the words that made me come to my senses; I rose up from the ground, weary of my surroundings.
"Where…am I?" the words almost got stuck in my throat. "And more importantly, who and where are you?"
It came from the shadows, a figure unlike any other I have ever seen, it was small of stature, white as moonlight, garbed in a simple azure robe, nothing that would catch the eye. It would have been odd but not unnatural if not for the aura of madness that drowned all that surrounded it, then came a sly smile, pointed teeth shining from light of unbeknownst origin. Its pointed ears wiggled as it spoke.
"Why, young traveler, you are on the first floor, you have been given a chance to climb the Tower."
I was taken aback by its statement, me, chosen for the climb, it was the moment I have always been waiting for, a chance to get anything I have ever wanted, power beyond imagination, and I was ready.
"My, such eagerness, but do not mistake my words for certainty, you have only been given a chance and nothing more, you have not been deemed worthy of the climb, yet. I, Headon, Guardian of the First Floor and tester of regulars shall preside over your first challenge and see if you have what it takes."
"I am ready." was my swift response.
"That shall soon be revealed. In this Tower, every time you go up a floor, there is a test to see whether you are qualified to go to the next floor. The first test you shall face is simply called "Ball" as it said those words it raised its arms towards the empty room around us and light came shining from the before inexistent roof. Then, the wall behind it began to transform into a cage and inside the cage was something I had never even imagined. My jaw hanged low in awe and terror as I saw the body of the beast; it was gigantic in size and the color of a deep and dark purple with horns protruding from what I assumed was its head, and moved restless around its prison.
"This is a steel eel, an impressive creature without a doubt, impressive and dangerous. Now I shall explain the rules of the ball game, pay heed to my words for I will not repeat myself. Do you see the object that the eel is guarding?" then he pointed towards a black entity suspended in air right in the middle of the room. "That object is the ball. Your purpose in this test is to get inside the cell, run over and apply enough force to pop the ball" He stopped and grinned "Achieve this and you will pass, well, that is, if you manage to do so without dying."
My heart sank and any amount of courage that I had before disappeared like a long forgotten dream, how was I supposed to destroy the ball and still keep my body in one piece? The beast was clearly more powerful than I; could I hope to defeat it? Nevertheless I began walking towards the bars of the cell, ready to confront the creature that stood between me and my dreams.
"Such eagerness, but stay your haste before you plunge straight ahead into the belly of the beast" and while speaking, the Guardian, beckoned me to come near him and said
"Do not forget your pocket, traveler, it is quintessential to your climb for without it you would not be able to understand the others with whom your path will cross" then he extended his left arm and produced a small, onyx colored metallic orb slightly bigger than my hand. "This is a pocket, and as I have stated before, it will translate the language of other people you might meet, it also has other functions which will be revealed in due time."
I approached Headon and took the pocket from his hand, it was much lighter than it seemed, I began to inspect it, turning it around, throwing it in the air and catching it before it fell. Before too long I noticed a small inscription of the letter "E" on it. "What does this letter mean?" I asked the Guardian while pointing to the letter.
"Ah, pockets, you see, are graded by their quality and by the materials they are forged with. Potential Regulars such as yourself are given pockets of the lowest worth because if you manage to die during the tests the loss of materials would be minimal. Also E-level pockets work up until a certain Floor of the Tower, so if you wish to continue climbing after that point, you would need to buy a new and better pocket. Do not worry; even though this is a low level item, it still detains a high level of durability. Now, take it and say "Pocket, invisible mode"
"Pocket, invisible mode" I did just as he said and within a moment the pocket disappeared from my hand, but this was no simple disappearance, I could not even feel its weight, it was as if the sphere's presence was erased from existence. "What happened with my pocket, Guardian?"
"Well, in order to reduce the amount of stuff people have to carry, pockets and other, similar, items were created with the ability to store themselves in a small compartment that follows the user; this compartment is in disarray with the flow of the world around you. Its existence always flowing, being neither here, nor there, but always linked to you. Your pocket will become visible once again if you simply utter: "Pocket, visible mode"
Being astonished, I only managed to mumble "Incredible."
"Traveler, my tongue grows tired of waggling, go face your destiny and may luck be on your side."
My earlier determination slightly waning, I took my first steps towards the bars that caged the mighty beast. After I reached the outer perimeter of the cage, I could finally realize the true might of the steel eel; it gave off an extreme aura of pressure, I could feel my bones grinding amongst themselves. I leaned on a nearby bar to catch my breath and to steel my resolve. After a few moments of peace I passed through the bars to face my foe. As soon as I set foot in its domain, the beast stopped its erratic movements and turned to face me, as if looking directly through my body. I became stunned by the sudden change, then, the beast lunged, its body slithering on the floor at amazing speed. There was no time to think, instinctively jumping, I landed on the back of its body, the beast barely missing me and instead hitting the cage's bars with a powerful clang. From atop the eel I could see the ball floating just above the ground, I began to think about ways of destroying it. Alas, my pause for thought was short; the beast was back on the move, it began to wriggle its body, harder and harder until it managed to throw me off its rear. I briefly landed on my feet, only to fall, my face hitting the blue tiled floor. From the ground I saw the beast, getting ready for another attack, I got up on my feet, steeling myself and preparing to jump once again. Then, the attack followed.
I jumped, but to my astonishment, the eel did not make the same mistake again, this time it followed me up in the air with its mouth wide opened, ready to swallow me whole. But it seems that my luck would not give in, not yet, the beast did not rise high enough and only managed to hit me with its upper jaw. The hit sent me flying backwards until I came to a sudden stop in one of the cage's bars, almost losing consciousness from having my wind knocked out. My vision was blurry and my head pounded like a beaten drum, it became clear to me that the beast was intelligent, it learned from past experiences and next time I will be either eaten or my bones would shatter. I had no more than thirty seconds to plan my final move before the next attack, the ball must be destroyed, and the only question was, how? Thoughts raced through my mind, plans were being created and destroyed at an amazing speed. Fifteen seconds remaining, no plan was viable enough… until… I picked myself up from the ground and yelled "Pocket, visible mode!" Ten seconds remaining, the eel slowly began to approach me. I ran towards the ball with all my might, tightly clutching my pocket, there was no time to aim, only to hope my luck had not deserted me. The eel was on my tail…five seconds…I came to a halt and threw the pocket with all my remaining strength. The sphere flew right towards the ball; the beast parted its jaws as if to welcome my warm meat inside them. I stood there, frozen, the eel's breath was on my face, it reeked of flesh and blood, spit flew from its mouth onto my head, and the jaws began to close around me. I closed my eyes, and parted my arms, awaiting the embrace of death, but, nothing came.
I opened my eyes, the beast was gone and I still lived. From outside the cage came a mocking laugh, then a voice echoed.
"I never imagined someone using their pocket in such a way. Well done, you have been deemed worthy enough to climb the Tower." The Guardian threw his arms up into the air and a blinding blue light appeared behind him, slowly, the light took the form of a gate of incredible size, fit for a titan, its doors opening without haste. "Now, proceed young Regular, the second Floor awaits you."
A wave of relief washed over me, I ran over to where the ball was in order to find my pocket. It was lying on the floor, apparently still working. I put it away and began to slowly walk towards the gate; my heart beating faster with each step taken towards my destination, until finally I stepped through the entrance without looking back. Everything that I have ever wanted was waiting for me.